Shooting Industry May 2013 - Page 36

Creative Handgun Strategies By J.K. Autry Richard Sprague, president of Sprague’s Sports in Yuma, Ariz., handles a handgun sale. He says dealers need to develop new strategies to bring in inventory. Forget Standard Methods — Unleash New Ways To Find Inventory C onsumers continue to empty handgun displays faster than dealers can stock them, presenting gun storeowners with a variety of unprecedented challenges. Richard Sprague, president of Sprague’s Sports in Yuma, Ariz., says he’s never encountered such high sales levels during his 40 years in the industry. “It’s common to have people two and three deep at the counter, waiting patiently for assistance,” Sprague said. “It’s difficult to staff when you’re not sure what each day will bring. I keep expecting the demand to taper off, but it hasn’t since December.” The extraordinary demand has created a volatile market, with dealers desperately searching for handguns to stock. Just as there are more customers purchasing handguns, there are also more dealers out searching for inventory. “There’s more hands in the pie right MAY 2013 now,” Sprague said. “Our industry has experienced tremendous growth. People are off the fence [concerning purchasing a firearm], and our industry has benefited from that. At the same time, there’s more dealers, ranges and buyers out buying than ever before.” Like other dealers, Sprague has developed new, creative strategies to help him keep a healthy selection of handguns stocked and on display, which he identified as one of the top challenges dealers are facing during the surge in the market. “It’s great to have strong sales, but you have to be able to restock the cart,” Sprague said. “I’ve started shopping through our distributors at nights, on weekends and during odd hours. What you find is 80 to 90 percent of the product is Restock The Cart already pre-committed. That leaves very little to go out on open shelves.” The current inventory shortage doesn’t just affect handguns and most other firearms, but also ammo, which has been difficult for dealers to stock in large enough quantities to meet demands. Sprague hopes to see ammo production within the industry increase in the near future so he can fully stock his shelves again. “We need to get our ammunition supplies back up and fill the Grand Canyonsized hole we have in the industry. That way, when a customer comes in wanting a case of ammo, we can actually sell it to him without worrying about running out the next week,” Sprague said. The lack of readily available handguns in brands Sprague would normally stock www.shootingindustry.com Consider Other Brands 36 Subscribe to SI DIGITAL